INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 VHF/UHF/MICROWAVE COMMITTEE VIENNA FEBRUARY

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1 B01 Increased Amateur Satellite Service 2 Metre Usage RSGB Murray Niman G6JYB, (Microwave Manager) Discussion paper (based on proposals raised at the AMSAT International Meeting held at UoS Guildford in July 2005) The Amateur Satellite Service has, according to ITU decisions, access to the full allocation of MHz but, by agreement of all three IARU Regions, only uses a section of the allocation on an exclusive basis - namely MHz. Current Use It is used for both for satellite uplinks and downlinks. It is the most popular of the Amateur Satellite allocations for the following reasons: It is the only band between 30 MHz and 24 GHz that we have primary use and hence some control. The 435 MHz, 1.26, 2.4, 5.6, 5.8, and 10 GHz bands are all shared with either high power users (radars) or large numbers of consumer devices which raise the noise floor. 144 MHz is the best band for amateur satellite downlinks due to ease of on board RF power generation and efficiency thereof and the reduced path losses. Receiving equipment is widely available; this is an important consideration in many countries where Amateur Satellites are seen as an important tool in encouraging young people to pursue technical self-training. Ready availability of launch opportunities where size constraints mean Attitude Control is not be possible. The lack of attitude control mandates the use of simple omni-directional antennas. This in turn means the use of VHF due to the lower path losses. Although, in theory, our primary status should prevent this, there has been a dramatic increase in levels of unlicensed usage in the 2 metre band in a large number of countries in ALL IARU regions. It is therefore apparent that we should start to use primarily for downlinks to overcome the interference that is caused to uplinks. This part of the 2 metre band is presently quite heavily used by Amateur Satellites. In addition, on the International Space Station, there is an Amateur Packet Repeater and Voice operation from the Amateurs onboard are also taking place in this narrow segment. Future Use Requirements An area that has been growing rapidly has been the development of Amateur Satellites by university students. Already large numbers of students have been involved in developing Amateur Satellites; this growth activity is beneficial to both the students and the wider Amateur community. The students of today are becoming our successors and supporters of tomorrow. There is, under development, a very small (triple cubesat), university student satellite using a Linear Transponder for CW/SSB use with a bandwidth of khz. The uplink will be on 435 MHz and the downlink on 144 MHz. It is expected that more of these projects will materialise and developments are also taking place to develop DSP based AGC systems for these transponders to remove the alligator effect problem. It is also anticipated that additional and unexpected launch opportunities may occur where this sort of transponder could be quickly/easily incorporated. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 1

2 There is therefore a need for an additional Satellite segment at 144 MHz that could be used for linear transponder downlinks for CW/SSB operation. Given that these transponders might have a bandwidth of perhaps 40 khz, the use of a segment approximately 50kHz wide would be required to allow for Doppler shift, which can be as high as +/- 3 khz. It has been reported that there is a reduced level of terrestrial CW/SSB activity on 2 metres in all countries in recent years and this may provide an opportunity. In particular, at least in Region 1, the segment between and MHz has become much quieter. Except in major VHF contests it is rare to find high levels of activity in this section. Discussion points 1+ To permit satellites, operating in the Amateur Satellite Service, which incorporate linear transponders, which are generally used for narrow band non channelised signals, to use, on a non exclusive basis, the section of the 2 meter band MHz for downlink (satellite to ground) mode only, by amending the bandplans in each IARU Region. An analysis of current band use and operator flexibility in this part of the 2 metre band suggests that this would be compatible with the existing terrestrial activities around the world and would have no detrimental affect on them. Amateur Satellite linear transponders operating in this section of the band might even have the additional benefit of helping to stimulate both terrestrial CW/SSB operation and new narrow band modes. 2+ The presence of interfering non-amateur signals in the MHz part of this band, in many parts of the world, is well documented. To prevent the retransmission of interfering terrestrial signals, satellites in the Amateur Satellite Service that plan to use the 2 meter Amateur band are encouraged to use this band for downlink (satellite to ground) modes only, regardless of modulation type These ideas be discussed at the forthcoming IARU Region 1 VHF Managers meeting in Vienna and, at the same time, be circulated for discussion in the two other IARU regions INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 2

3 B02 Bands above 275GHz RSGB Murray Niman G6JYB Discussion paper Background Future WRC Conferences will consider allocations in the GHz range, where IARU has already expressed an interest in seeking new allocations. Developments in atmospheric propagation data/models, regulatory environment, technology and amateur experimentation point to the need to review the historical IARU position. Considerations for Discussion: a) The published/historic IARU position and recent submissions to CEPT, FCC etc b) A priority should be to seek allocations below 500GHz due to atmospheric losses and technology availability. c) Any new allocation should be for both the Amateur and Amateur Satellite Service the latter being both Space-Earth and Earth-Space. d) Possibility of no-change preferences by many ITU administrations at WRC e) Recent UK/EU regulatory trends to much lighter regulation or wholesale licence exemption in all bands as the default for >30GHz f) Compatibility with other IARU policy on not having/requesting excessive microwave spectrum allocations, in exchange for better protection. By default, the IARU list is seeking >100GHz of spectrum which is hard to justify and fully utilise. g) Allocations above 100GHz can be dominated by both water vapour losses and an increasing number of molecular resonances such as Oxygen h) Amateurs now have ready access to 76GHz equipment with some experiments in higher bands such as 134, 248 and even higher such as 403GHz. i) Recent years have witnessed considerable research and advances data and technology for scientific and security applications in the Terahertz bands. j) In contrast to lower microwave bands, access to such high frequencies may still heavily rely on frequency multipliers, which may influence preferred choices. For example:- Band, GHz BW, GHz Access by /6 x /6 x x /6 x3 INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 3

4 The rest of this paper provides data to facilitate discussion at Vienna Published IARU Position (reproduced from Nov-2006) Frequencies above 275 GHz WRC-2000 extended the mandate of the ITU Radio Regulations from GHz to GHz but did not make any specific allocations to radiocommunication services. However, the conference revised a footnote listing bands above 275 GHz used by passive services that should be avoided by active radiocommunication services. In addition, WRC-2000 adopted preliminary agenda item 2.3 for WRC-07 to review studies and consider allocations in the frequency bands above 275 GHz. The 2002 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference extended the mandate of the ITU to allocate much higher frequencies and studies have begun on frequencies up to 375 THz. In order to continue with their activities, the Amateur Services will require allocations of sufficient bandwidth to permit experimentation spaced throughout the range GHz. Studies of Amateur Services' requirements in this range should be completed in preparation for WRC-10. The radio astronomy service has indicated a desire to share with the Amateur Services in this range. The Amateur Services seek to obtain not less than 75 GHz of spectrum in the band GHz in order to provide for future development of the Amateur Services utilising new technologies. Analysis of attenuation due to gasses and precipitation through the atmosphere indicates that the following bands are better choices than others are for the Amateur Services. Better bands (GHz) Attenuation (db/km) The following are the bands preferred for the amateur and amateur-satellite services because they are within the better bands identified above and are free of other radio-frequency lines of the greatest importance to the radio astronomy service. Primary allocations within these bands appears feasible, and the bands from 510 GHz and below are the most ideal for the amateur services, based on atmospheric attenuation, and where the bulk of the allocations within these bands is preferred. Preferred bands for the amateur services (GHz) Available * bandwidth (GHz) * Total is 101GHz, representing 14% of total spectrum in GHz The ITU has begun studies of frequency bands above 3000GHz (3THz), considered the beginning of the optical spectrum. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 4

5 Current Radio Regulations As mentioned above the current key allocation footnote is RR5.565, which includes a request to protect certain passive service bands:- The frequency band GHz may be used by administrations for experimentation with, and development of, various active and passive services. In this band a need has been identified for the following spectral line measurements for passive services: Radio Astronomy Service: GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz and GHz; Earth Exploration-Satellite Service (passive) and Space Research Service (passive): GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz and GHz. Future research in this largely unexplored spectral region may yield additional spectral lines and continuum bands of interest to the passive services. Administrations are urged to take all practicable steps to protect these passive services from harmful interference until the date when the allocation table is established in the above mentioned frequency band. (WRC-2000) German Amateur Service Allocations Although there are no formal allocations above 275GHz, administrations bound by a strict interpretation of RR5.565 are obliged to safeguard the frequency bands listed, which conversely enables them to currently allocate frequencies in the gaps between. This effectively has happened in Germany where, since February 2005, the current amateur radio regulations explicitly permit the following bands to be used by the Amateur Service: GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz and frequencies above 956 GHz A number of observations may be made on the logic of these allocations:- It is noteworthy that the exclusions have included all the passive bands, including the Radio Astronomy Service (RAS). Sharing with RAS has proved possible in lower frequency millimetre wave Amateur Allocations. There is no overlap with the long-standing IARU request, a position of some concern to DARC. Most of the bands are above 500GHz and all feature high atmospheric attenuation levels, making them particularly unattractive for DX operation. The same regulatory logic would also permit the bands , to be made available, but these are also high attenuation frequencies, as are bands above 900GHz. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 5

6 HITRAN Atmospheric Absorption and CRAF Data Contemporary knowledge of sub-millimetre propagation is improving rapidly. A number of prediction codes are derived from molecular absorption databases. Of these, the Hitran database is public domain, although codes that utilise it can be proprietary see Courtesy of BAE SYSTEMS ATC, plotted below is a Hitran prediction. This is largely dominated by water vapour, and clearly illustrates certain frequencies where little transmission would occur. In the plot below cyan markers indicate the historic IARU proposals, whilst the current German allocations are denoted in red. It can be see that some of the currently proposed IARU bands are on steep attenuation gradients. The current German allocations coincide with even higher atmospheric losses and are not expected to be suitable for DX working. This quick prediction for sea level masks some molecular resonance contributions but could be refined. It is missing some Oxygen lines for example (compared with the ALMA data). In addition to Hitran a very useful listing of molecular resonance frequencies is available on the CRAF radio astronomy spectrum management site at: Liaison with the radio astronomy community is of course strongly recommended. IARU s German Allocations Atmospheric loss predictions with IARU and German Allocations overlaid Data from ALMA: Atacama Large Millimetre Array The European Southern Observatory (ESO) in a joint project with the USA has started construction of the ALMA phased array telescope using fifty 12m-diameter antennas covering GHz. Background research for this major project included one of the most detailed ever modelling and measurement campaigns of sub-mm atmospheric attenuation, with results available in the IEEE journals and online. The very arid 5000m altitude site at Chajnantor in Chile probably represents a best-case scenario. Notable in the linear plot below are a number of fine molecular resonances INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 6

7 in addition to the major water absorption nulls. Some of these are Oxygen-related but the reader is advised to compare with the CRAF list for others at 670GHz 860GHz For information, the coloured bands above are the tuneable receivers that will be used on ALMA:- Band Fstart Fstop Rx Supplier None planned None planned EU-US Japan EU EU-US EU-US Japan EU-US Japan INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 7

8 Modifications to the IARU List Based on data elsewhere in this paper the following may be possibilities, assuming sharing is agreed with Radio Astronomy, but still respecting the passive Earth Exploration & Space Research Services IARU Preferred Band (GHz) Suitable Comment or lower part of the window is preferred Oxygen Resonance at 368 & Water at 380 in Alma/CRAF data Preferred New alternative? Rather close to 487GHz Oxygen & 489GHz Water Resonances Getting lossy Consider around instead, to avoid rolloff and Oxygen resonance at 714GHz Avoid Oxygen and other resonances at 833-5GHz. The GHz range may be better? Propagation Data at Lower Frequencies For reference, atmospheric attenuation based on water vapour and oxygen is plotted below, with markers for current and possible amateur bands. This is based on a relatively dry day with 6g/m 3 water vapour density. One point worth noting is that there are substantial gaps between some of the lower frequencies. IARU may therefore also wish to consider future spectrum requirements between 10 and 24GHz, and around 30GHz in the moisture minimum Loss, db/km GHz H 20 Resonance Water Oxygen Band Total INTERIM MEETING Frequency, OF THE IARU GHz REGION Page

9 VIENNA FEBRUARY B03 CHANGE TO USAGE OF MHz FOR FSK441 COMMUNICATION RSGB DAVID BUTLER G4ASR BACKGROUND: The Usage column of the IARU Region 1 145MHz Band Plan shows the sub-section MHz as an alternative sub-band frequency for FSK441 usage. HOWEVER: since the Davos Conference the alternative sub-band has not been used by FSK441 operators. PROPOSAL: That the VHF Manager of each IARU Region 1 to monitor the situation in their country with the objective of deleting FSK441 usage MHz at the next IARU Region 1 Conference. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 9

10 B04 A REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 12.5kHz CHANNEL SPACING SYSTEM IN THE 145MHz BAND. RSGB DAVID BUTLER G4ASR BACKGROUND: Thirteen years ago in De Haan, Belgium (1993) it was recommended that FM repeaters (and simplex usage) within the 145MHz band would change to a 12.5kHz channel spacing system. A decade ago in Tel Aviv, Israel (1996) the decision was made that national Societies shall promote the use of the 12.5kHz channel spacing standard for NBFM channels in order to "effectively implement the 12.5 khz system". HOWEVER: (1) A problem exists within the original recommendation that there was a lack of any explicit explanation of receiver bandwidth specifications. (2) No-one was charged within IARU Region 1 to formally inform transceiver manufacturers of the decision to implement a genuine 12.5kHz channel spacing system in the 145MHz band. PRESENT SITUATION: Analysis indicates that in the UK there has been an increase in NBFM usage via repeaters and simplex channels within the 145MHz band. However users are increasingly complaining of interference between adjacent channels and repeater access problems caused by excessive deviation. Measurements have been made on a number of current VHF transceivers and it appears that although channel spacing of 12.5kHz has now been implemented the transmitter and receiver specifications do not conform to a maximum deviation of +/- 3kHz, 12KOF3E standard. It would appear that some transceiver manufacturers adopt a half-way house specification allowing satisfactory operation within 25kHz and 12.5kHz channel systems. PROPOSAL: (1) To provide explicit transmitter and receiver specifications within the VHF Managers Handbook for a genuine 12.5kHz system. (2) For IARU Region 1 VHF/UHF/Microwave Committee to agree a method of formally informing transceiver manufacturers of this standard. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 10

11 B05 FREQUENCY ALLOCATION FOR DIGITAL VOICE COMMUNICATION WITHIN THE 145MHz BAND. RSGB DAVID BUTLER G4ASR BACKGROUND: At the Davos Conference (2005) the HF Committee C4 recommended (in DV05_C4_Rec_13) that digitised speech is considered a digital data mode with regards to band plan matters. The matter of digital voice communication was not discussed by the VHF/UHF Committee C5. DISCUSSION: Some Societies have suggested that digital voice should be placed (in the HF band plan) within the SSB telephony section. However this may not be suitable when considering VHF band planning. The SSB telephony sub-band is traditionally used for weak-signal (DX) working. Currently digital voice communication is an experimental mode carried out by local stations. Digital voice should not be considered as a Machine Generated Mode (MGM) as voice is the origin of the modulation and not a computer. PROPOSAL: That digital voice communication experiments be carried out in the ALL MODES section of the 145MHz band. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 11

12 B06 CHANGE TO THE 70.26MHz AM/FM CALLING FREQUENCY. RSGB DAVID BUTLER G4ASR BACKGROUND: The frequency MHz has been used in the UK for many decades for AM/FM calling and this frequency is now contained within the IARU Region 1 70MHz Band Plan HOWEVER: There are now a number of countries within IARU Region 1 that have authorisation to operate within the 4M band but they do not have any significant attachment to the historical frequency of 70.26MHz. There are now many surplus synthesised AM/FM radios using 12.5kHz available throughout Region 1. PROPOSAL: The AM/FM Calling Frequency on MHz be moved to MHz. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 12

13 B07 CHANGES TO EXCLUSIVE USAGE OF MHz FOR EME COMMUNICATION. RSGB DAVID BUTLER G4ASR BACKGROUND: The Usage column of the IARU Region 1 145MHz Band Plan shows the sub-section MHz as EME Exclusive usage. HOWEVER: Because of interference problems associated with the bottom end of the 145MHz band (p.c. clocks etc) very little, if any, EME operation is carried out between MHz. PRESENT SITUATION: Worldwide EME operators are currently using MGM (JT65) around MHz with CW operation often between MHz. PROPOSAL: To delete from the USAGE column of the IARU Region 1 145MHz Band Plan the EME EXCLUSIVE comment between MHz. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 13

14 B08 The need for minimum requirements for a valid digital QSO. SSA Peter Sundberg, SM2CEW Background Old and widely accepted standards of what constitutes a valid VHF/UHF QSO have been around for a long time. Most listings of first and other achievements like distance, or number of squares worked, are built on the base of these well defined requirements. Today the weak signal VHF/UHF community have access to digital software doing the coding and decoding of information constituting a QSO. This is not new, RTTY, PSK and other digital modes have been around for some time. However, with the very popular WSJT package by K1JT, which is targeting the weak signal VHF/UHF community, a new protocol has been introduced. It is named JT65 and this protocol differs from the other ones because known information is injected to the CPU when performing the decoding process. Under certain circumstances very little information is flowing via the RF path. Actually, when the so called Deep Search (DS) decoder is engaged, calls and reports can not be decoded without the full information being present on the computer. The information is present through the use of a callsign database, the CALL3.TXT file, or by correctly inserting the full callsign and locator of the other station in the To Radio input box of the program. Thus, the decoding process is comparing fragments of information, matching this with known calls and locators from a database, reconstructing and then printing the full information on the screen as if it had been received via the airwaves. Furthermore, it is not clear to the operator what part of the information has been reconstructed, and therefore it is impossible to know what has actually been received. This is certainly a new private concept, and the decision to do away with our long since established QSO standards is a one man decision, namely one made by K1JT Joe Taylor. What this means is that all references to old records and achievements are impossible to make. We can never compare a QSO in CW/SSB where full calls, reports and R s have been transferred and copied in full via the RF path with digital QSO s where equivalent of two (2) characters have been received via the RF path. Comparing complete QSO s with fragmental QSO s is not fair. When making JT65 digital QSO s using the Deep Search Decoder K1JT has decided that the information content of only bits (equivalent to 2 characters) is considered full copy. So, instead of >56 bits which would represent full copy of both calls and a report, an extremely marginal QSO transfer is occuring. Again, to make the procedure clear, after reconstruction of the missing parts, using the information present on the computer, a full QSO message is printed on the computer screen. And the operator is acting as if he is conducting a QSO as per long accepted and well established standards. (See Ref 2 and 3) We have to ask ourselves whether we want our radio hobby to be diminished to the point where the RF path only provides fragments of information and computers reconstruct the full message from known data before printing it on the screen. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 14

15 If and when we accept that, who would then set the limit? As a further development, some might even use the the concept of booking a 4 bit symbol via a website for a given time, representing calls and reports, and then transfer those 4 bits successfully via the RF path. Computers at both ends would of course print full QSO messages on the screen in an attempt to validate the contact. Would this be considered as a valid QSO also? Is what we see on printed on the screen valid, or is the actual transfer via the RF path the most important part? Conclusion I we accept K1JT s decisions when inventing JT65 regarding information flow, analgoue to this we would have to accept each and every radio amateurs own private decisions regarding minimum requirements for digital QSO s! This is a highly undesirable situation. K1JT and other people of the digital community are strongly lobbying to make the JT65 protocol a de facto standard. So, what they are suggesting is that equivalent of 2 characters received via the RF path should become a standard for ALL digital ham radio weak signal communications, not only for EME. Furthermore, they argue that the report (what is labeled as unknown information in descriptions of QSO procedures) should be allowed to be 1 (one) bit. In JT65 this is realized by using so called shorthand messages, which in the case of JT65 are nothing but two tones at a given spacing. They are easily visible by eye on a spectrum display, and no coding is used. Integrity is impossible to uphold, especially in pileup situations. Toplists, DXCC, firsts, distance records, contests, awards, everyone presenting or organizing them will have to accept these private protocols without questioning. Stations following a QSO at Deep Search level are unable to decode any information unless both calls and locators are present on the monitoring computer. If this information is unknown, at DS level, there is no way for monitoring stations to confirm that the QSO has actually taken place. In my opinion, this is not the way weak signal VHF/UHF communication should be heading! And of course, the use of non RF path means to augment data transfer and confirmation should not be permitted during the course of a contact. (Internet on line communications) Below is an example showing in principle what is going on within JT65. The comparison will be made using our well established EME QSO procedure. Note that the JT65 protocol is using symbols instead of characters, but for clarity in the example it is chosen to present the information as characters. This can be argued, but for simplicity this method is chosen. Regardless of what underlaying coding/decoding method is used, the input and output of the process is still characters on a computer screen, so therefore the example below is valid. (for full information see Ref. 1) Station A transmitting 3Y0X G4IGO IO80 Station B receiving via radio path IG Station B computer printing on screen 3Y0X G4IGO IO80 (information reconstructed) Station B transmitting G4IGO 3Y0X OOO Station A receiving via radio path 3Y O Station A computer printing G4IGO 3Y0X OOO (information reconstructed) Station A transmitting shorthand message RO (two tones at given spacing) Station B operator watching a spectrum display, determine tone spacing with eye, decide it is RO INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 15

16 Station B transmitting shorthand message RRR (two tones at given spacing) Station A operator watching a spectrum display, determine tone spacing with eye, decide it is RRR Station A transmitting shorthand message 73 (two tones at given spacing) Station B operator watching a spectrum display, determine tone spacing with eyes, decide it is 73 This is in full a JT65 QSO of today, when the Deep Search decoder is engaged. As we can see, shorthand messages (i e reports and acknowledges) need not be decoded by the program, they can be seen on a spectrum display and visually decoded by eye because the differnce is only determined by the tone spacing. This procedure is fully open for all sorts of mistakes especially when it comes to RO, RRR and 73. We clearly see in the example above that these so called QSO s have nothing in common with our well established analogue QSO procedures. Quite the contrary, these QSO s rely on an extremely low amount of necessary information received via the RF path. Actually the received information is only about 20% of the full message. The rest is reconstructed by the computer as the information is fully known. And reports plus acknowledgements are 1 bit only. We now understand why the JT65 digital protocol is performing so well. Someone has made a decision to make it perform well, by giving up the need for information to be received via the RF path. Now, if we transfer the JT65 protocol to a digital meteorscatter QSO, using the same protocol requirements, this would be the outcome: - 2 characters received when decoding a burst - the missing information is looked up in a database and the computer is reconstructing the full message - the full meteorscatter message is printed on the computer screen - the operator is acting as if the full message was received The example above would indeed, and rightly so, be treated by most people as an invalid meteorscatter procedure. However, this QSO information flow is exactly what the digital lobby (K1JT and others) are lobbying for. They are suggesting that bits information received via the RF path should be considered a minimum requirement for all valid digital QSO. In fact, as we now are well aware, for people using JT65 when working EME this is already happening. And unfortunately these contacts are suggested by the digital lobby as being equal to CW/SSB QSO s. A couple of references to well established and accepted QSO procedures are relevant to the discussion above: Ref 2. EME procedure as agreed and decided at multiple EME conferences. Ref 3. Meteorscatter QSO Procedure as decided by IARU Region 1 (reference material is attached to this document) INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 16

17 The IARU Region 1 should decide on minimum requirements for what is considered to be a valid digital QSO. This decision should also include the report system, i. e. what is normally called unknown QSO information. The decoding process should at all times allow any randomly formatted text message to be decoded. This would be true when the information represent calls and reports, formatted as existing and well established radio amateur QSO procedures dictate. Injecting known information to the decoding process should not be allowed for a valid digital QSO. Anyone following the contact should be able to decode the same information, without having the information present on their computer. Ref 1: Klaus von de Heide, A comment on Joe s paper How many bits are copied in a JT65 transmission, DUBUS Magazine 04/2006, page (pdf) Ref 2: G3SEK EME operating procedures (pdf) Ref 3: IARU Meteorscatter QSO procedure (pdf) INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 17

18 B09 Omitting penalization for claimed points for duplicate QSO in IARU VHF/UHF/SHF contests in item 10 of IARU contest rules ZRS Sine - S53RM Background: In IARU meeting in Davos 2005 a new IARU VHF/UHF/SHF contest rules was accepted. It was decided that only EDI format contest logs should be accepted as a contest entries. So, all contest logs can be easily checked for duplicate QSO errors. As we in S5 understand, penalization for claiming DUPEs was necessary in past, to force operators to carefully check their logs, because big number of claimed dupes can significantly change result of the station and finding of duplicate QSO in paper logs was difficult for judging committee. : Item 10 of IARU VHF contest rules should be: 10. Judging of entries The final judging of the entries shall be the responsibility of the organizing society, whose decision shall be final. Entrants deliberately contravening any of these rules or flagrantly disregarding the IARU Region 1 band plans shall be disqualified. Each VHF Manager and/or national Contest Committee shall be responsible for monitoring during contests. Additional monitoring stations may be appointed but these stations may not take part in the contest. The national VHF Manager/Contest Committee is responsible for disqualification based upon the results of monitoring. Any error in the information logged by a station shall result in the loss by the receiving station of all points for that contact. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 18

19 B10 Exchange of contest logs between VHF managers for checking purposes ZRS Sine - S53RM Diskussion Background: With a relatively small number of participants and consecutively small number of contest logs received for national VHF/UHF/SHF contests from March through November the number of undiscovered errors in contest logs is quite high. More CHECK logs makes checking easier. To get CHECK logs from other managers (countries) by takes time, patience and it is sometimes mission impossible. First step forward is page (TNX to Ondrej OK1CDJ). There you can find all the contest logs sended for OK classification and small number of others. It would be very helpful to have some sort of server, where all managers could send contest logs, machine will pack them with other already uploaded logs for particular contest and than all the other managers can download allthe logs for that contest in one single file with use of password. I expect some debate about this subject and hopefully someone know the ham who will do the job. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 19

20 B11 Contest logs SARA Roman Kudlac, OM3EI Introduction: This paper proposes the IARU R1 contest web page as the only possibility for sending electronic logs from IARU R1 VHF&up contests. Background: According to the actual procedure logs must be sent to national VHF Managers or properly nominated Contest Committees which afterwards send them to Organising. This process results in long delays and final results are published very late. A better way is to send logs directly to a special web page. National VHF Managers will be able to download national logs from this page for a national evaluation. They will be able to download also logs of other stations for their national cross-checking. Participants will find on the one same web page all information concerning IARU R1 contests incl. claimed scores, rules, results etc. Key points and proposal: This paper proposes to replace the second sentence of the current rules for the (VHF Managers Handbook): - IARU R1 145MHz September Contest (item 4.6.9) - IARU R1 UHF/Microwave October Contest (item 4.7.9) - IARU R1 50MHz June Contest (item 4.9.9) and third sentence of the current rules for the IARU R1 September ATV Contest with the following sentence, Logs must be sent to the IARU R1 contest web page not later than the second Monday following the contest weekend. d. Recommendation: Electronic contest log data entries from IARU R1 contests should be sent to the IARU R1 contest web page. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 20

21 B12 Change of BASIC OPERATING AREA SSA Anders SM2ECL Background: VUCC Basic Operating Area Change. VUCC basic operating area expanded for 50 through 1296 MHz: The ARRL Membership Services Department has announced an increase in the size of the basic operating area for VUCC contacts made between 50 MHz and 1296 MHz. Effective immediately VUCC rules allow stations to submit confirmations for contacts made from different locations, provided no two locations are more than 200 km (124 miles) apart. The VUCC operating area for SHF operation remains unchanged. The change results from a recommendation of an ad hoc VHF/UHF Study Committee, appointed by the then-membership Services Committee, chaired by ARRL New England Division Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI. The ARRL Awards Committee recently added its approval to the change. (April 2006) Needs to be the same rules WW for recordawards and other. : Change of BACIC OPERATING AREA from our Region 1 used rules 50 Km radius to ARRL used 200 Km radius to be the same WW for DXCC and Squar:s record lists. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 21

22 B13 Allocations at 3400 MHz RSGB Murray Niman, G6JYB Background In Regions 2 and 3 the Amateur and Amateur Satellite Services have formal ITU Secondary allocations in the 3400 MHz band, within which MHz is allocated to the Amateur Satellite Service. The latter is noteworthy in that it is one of the few bi-directional satellite allocations in the lower microwave bands. By contrast, in Region-1 there is no ITU allocation for the amateur services, inhibiting harmonised usage and the use of amateur satellite global downlinks. Following CEPT DSI Phase-1 in 1992 and in line with EU17 1 a modest but increasing number of CEPT states now have Amateur Service allocations. This has increased with the recent expansion of the European Union resulting in an influx of states joining CEPT and adopting EU17. A recent survey of these is illustrated by a map in Figure-1, and a more detailed list in Figure-2. In addition, permits have also been made available in Sweden, whilst Denmark also has an Amateur Satellite allocation. Current Position It is evident from the illustrations that there is greater success in requesting the 10MHz wide allocation in newer states than has been previously been achieved in the more established parts of Europe. It is conceivable that further countries would accede to EU17 requests if their amateur societies were to press for them. This process needs to be accelerated to consolidate our position in the face of mounting commercial pressures from Fixed Wireless Access and the fact that is an IMT- Advanced candidate band at WRC-07 (agenda item 1.4). It is noteworthy though that the lower 10MHz as endorsed by EU17 is effectively a radio-navigation guard band and least favoured by commercial systems. It was recently announced in October-2006 that, after careful deliberation, the Amsat-NA Eagle amateur satellite project would use 3.4GHz uplinks to deliver a high-quality, high-data-rate 5GHz downlinks from its Advanced Communications Package. Region-1 Societies would need to acquire Amateur Satellite privileges for uplinks, if full benefit is to be gained from this exciting project. EME as a Precedent In considering how additional privileges may be obtained for satellite uplinks, perhaps initially by special permits, it became clear that EME activity in the 3400 MHz band might be a useful precedent. UK and European amateurs have conducted a modest amount of EME activity in the 3400 MHz band. The moon is a natural satellite and, as such, does not fall within the definition of an ITU Satellite Service (which is specifically defined to be the use of Artificial Satellites). If it can be shown that more frequent EME uplinks do not interfere with Primary Users, then evidencebased submissions can be made for Amateur Satellite privileges. Its is important that CEPT states who have the opportunity afforded to them by EU17 press home their advantage in order to realise the IARU spectrum goal of a Region-1 allocation, and underpin the success of the ambitious Eagle programme. 1 EU17: In the sub-bands MHz, MHz, GHz, GHz the amateur service operates on a secondary basis. In making assignments to other services, CEPT administrations are requested wherever possible to maintain these sub-bands in such a way as to facilitate the reception of amateur emissions with minimal power flux densities. In effect, EU17 encourages administrations to afford some consideration to amateur weak-signal operations in the sub-band MHz, among others. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 22

23 Summary Interest in the 3400 band is gaining momentum from both amateur and commercial interests. It is important that our position, at least in the segment, is not only maintained, but also enhanced. s 2) IARU-R1 maintain an online status table/map of Societies with 3400MHz privileges 3) 3400MHz EME Activity is actively encouraged and expanded. 4) All Societies seek to gain at least 10MHz allocation at MHz in line with EU17 5) Societies should collaborate more closely in order to get EU17 implemented, especially in those countries that have been particularly reticent, or are under-resourced. Figure-1: Countries with confirmed 3400 Amateur Service Allocations as at Nov-2006 Note: At time of writing, Poland was unconfirmed and Sweden is based on 2006 permits INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 23

24 Figure-2: 3400 MHz Band Frequency Allocation Details as at Nov-2006 Note: At time of writing, Poland was unconfirmed and Sweden is based on 2006 permits INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 24

25 B14 Microwave Spectrum Threats RSGB Murray Niman, G6JYB Background At Davos 2005, it was agreed that spectrum threat tables be maintained for the benefit of Region 1 societies and to aid coordination of response where necessary. This note updates IARU-R1 on developments and serves as a basis for discussion 23cms See other RSGB paper on 23cms Bandplan, Galileo etc MHz This valuable 3G Expansion band will be auctioned across Europe shortly. Societies should take all possible precautions to advise amateurs that 2 nd harmonics from 23cms or other spurii do not fall into this important commercial band. Future bands for IMT Advanced The 2400 and 3400 amateur bands are included as candidate bands for future mobile applications in WRC-07 Agenda item MHz High levels of ISM (eg ) make this section difficult to use, especially for satellites. UWB Sort Range Devices (Wireless USB) CEPT studies seem to indicate that the 5.6 and 10GHz bands will be relatively well protected, leaving 3.4GHz vulnerable. Other UWB applications are being considered in the HF/VHF/UHF bands 10GHz Fragmentation of the 10GHz Amateur Band continues to occur in the UK where parts are to be reauctioned, threatening the Amateur Satellite Service in particular. Car Radar A narrow band variant of Short Range Radar has been developed for GHz which will not face the same restrictions as the UWB 24GHz variant. Once exempted, applications may extend to other applications such as security alarms in both the 24 and 76GHz bands. Migration of amateur activities to the relevant Primary allocation is encouraged. General Regulation and Bands above 30GHz Ofcom and EU studies are considering much lighter regulatory or exempt approaches Publicity and Liaison There is increasing evidence that amateur activities in the microwave bands may not be sufficiently publicised outside of amateur circles and that official bodies do not proactively liaise/research amateur activity. This weakness occurs at both national and CEPT levels. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 25

26 B15 23cms Bandplan RSGB Murray Niman, G6JYB Background Increasing use by current and future Primary Users in the 23cms band necessitates prudent planning of what might become a much smaller effective Amateur allocation. This also adds to the demand for spectrally efficient ATV. Considering that: Safety-of Life radio navigation and other Primary User applications/developments make 23cms amateur allocations/clearances vulnerable and increasingly challenging. The Galileo system is progressing and may cause radars to move. For example Galileo has effectively been given priority by CEPT over Wind Profiler radars. Analogue ATV requires considerable bandwidths that can make it difficult to gain clearance in this band in particular, or uses wideband receivers that may be vulnerable to Primary User interference. In contrast DATV developments such as QPSK can be robust and their lower bandwidth (typically 4MHz max) facilitates regulatory clearances and alternative bandplanning. There is no harmonised reserve frequency for narrowband working and beacons, should 1296MHz become unavailable. Traditional packet/data/fax usage is declining in 23cms. s 1. That developments in Digital ATV, using no more than 4MHz bandwidth, be encouraged with a long term view to facilitating ATV Digital Switchover in this band (and 70cms). 2. That priority is given to agreeing harmonised reserve frequency(s) for 1296MHz narrowband. 3. That discussion on a potential alternative 10MHz wide bandplan is undertaken, possibly in the MHz area (outside of the Galileo band), or the 1260/70 sub-band and/or the band. 4. That the VHF Handbook 23cm bandplan footnote on beacon co-ordination be considered outdated and removed. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 26

27 B16 Amateur Satellite Service Spectrum RSGB Murray Niman, G6JYB Background The Amateur Satellite Service is faced with more restricted allocations than the Amateur Service, and this is compounded by both interference threats and other restrictions that inhibit harmonised usage. Considering that There are increasing levels of harmful interference from ISM etc in the 2.4GHz band There are concerns regarding radars and Galileo in 23cms Region 1 does not have any Amateur Satellite allocation in the 3.4GHz band, in contrast to Regions 2& 3 (not even within CEPT EU-17/23) The 6 metre band is increasingly allocated as an amateur allocation by many countries That Wimax, Fixed Wireless Access and future Intelligent Transport Systems threaten the 5.8GHz Space-Earth allocation. Some allocations are additionally restricted by being Earth-Space or Space-Earth only. Satellites can have a significant in-service lifetime that can complicate a phased frequency migration s All IARU Region 1 societies request that the following additional Amateur Satellite Service bands be studied and considered, perhaps as a package, for a future WRC agenda item MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz (Currently Earth-To-Space only) MHz INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 27

28 B17 Beacon Data and Specifications RSGB Murray Niman, G6JYB Background Accurate frequency beacons with low phase noise facilitate use of highly tuned user equipment for weak signal flux DX contacts. They are a major resource for propagation studies and equipment alignment in the microwave bands Considering that: A new database of Region-1 VHF/UHF/Microwave Beacons is now online at This continues to show that status data for many beacons is years out of date, undermining planning and co-ordination. The VHF Handbook does not specify beacon frequency spacing in bands above 23cms. To facilitate planning this should now be specified and at least reflect current practice which is using 5kHz spacing, with an offset procedure to resolve clashes. s 1. That a Beacon Frequency Spacing of 5kHz be adopted in the Bands 2.3GHz to 47GHz, and incorporated into the VHF Handbook. 2. Specifications for accuracy be considered that are compatible with 2.5kHz spacing in the 1-10GHz bands, should the necessity arise from increasing beacon numbers and greater DX ranges, or from potential loss of bandwidth to Primary Users. 3. That Societies are urged to provide regular updates to the IARU R1 Beacon Coordinator 4. Beacons (or changes to Beacons) which are not notified to the Coordinator forfeit arbitration rights in any co-ordination dispute INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 28

29 B18 Minimum requirement for a valid (digital) VUHF QSO EDR Ivan, OZ7IS Background As a result of the ever-increasing use of different types of digital modes, a debate about the need for a common standard for the minimum requirement for a valid VUSHF qso has been going on throughout the region for quite some time now. Unfortunately the problem was not covered during the EME conference in : We therefore propose to establish a definition valid for ALL VUSHF contacts. The wording could be equal to the first sentence describing the minimum requirement in the meteor scatter procedure: A valid contact is one where both operators have copied both call signs, the report and an unambiguous confirmation. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 29

30 B19 Access points for Echolink/IRLP etc. in the 144 MHz bandplan EDR Ivan, OZ7IS Throughout IARU and its Region 1 there are numerous possibilities to access repeaters etc. worldwide via the internet by using normal amateur vhf-uhf transceivers. As long as it is done through the existing repeater networks it is only a matter for the local administrations/societies. But when it comes to access via a simplex channel we need coordination. We need frequencies set aside for that purpose in the 144 MHz bandplan. Not too many years ago we set aside the segment 144, ,975 for packet traffic. Since then most of the packet traffic has withered and most of these frequencies can be put into new use. : It seems logic that the DARC has set aside 144,975 and 144,9625 for that purpose. We therefore propose to make that the IARU, Region 1, recommendation. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 30

31 B20 Alternative QSO procedure on Microwaves? EDR Ivan, OZ7IS On the open Nordic VHF meeting this past summer, an interesting idea was brought forward: As Microwave openings are sometimes short-lived as in the case of aircraft-reflections ( flightscatter ) it is important to have a short and precise procedure. The scheme (not the reporting system) for the old MS procedure seems ideal for that purpose. In short: SM7ECM OZ7IS SM7ECM OZ7IS SM7ECM OZ7IS K K K OZ7IS SM7ECM OZ7IS SM7ECM OZ7IS SM7ECM K K K SM7ECM OZ7IS R55 R55 R55 SM7ECM..etc OZ7IS SM7ECM R R R R R R R R OZ7IS SM7ECM R R R R R R R R.etc SM7ECM OZ7IS R R R R R R R R SM7ECM OZ7IS R R R R R R R R.etc (Additional information like Locator, etc. can be added depending on the type of contest.) This procedure have been proven successful on MS in the past, - and it is effective on Microwaves as well. We propose to recommend this procedure as an option for microwave contacts, especially during contests. INTERIM MEETING OF THE IARU REGION 1 Page 31